Tune into plenty of productivity experts, and you'll be tempting to think that a nap is a superpower: not just a band-aid following restless night, but a shortcut to enhanced cognition, a brighter outlook and maybe a faster 5k run time. Professional footballers do it regularly – along with concert pianists, mixed martial artists and high-profile executives. Yet, when you don't have a room for napping or a career that encourages frequent naps, can there *honestly* worthwhile perks to a burst of shut-eye for it to be worth the kerfuffle? Does there exist a reliable way to nod off promptly? Furthermore, can you really guarantee you’ll wake up feeling better, instead of groggy?
Identifying Your Reasons for Napping
“There are three main reasons for daytime sleep in the adult population,” explains a professor of circadian rhythm professor. “One is known as make-up sleep, which is the action you take when you’ve had a lack of sleep overnight. Another is pre-emptive sleep, which involves preparing for sleep loss ahead, for example during overnight shifts. The third is called “appetitive drive”, which basically is about the wish: you have a chance to sleep in the daytime, and it's pleasant to indulge.”
The initial step to do, therefore, is to think about why you want to nap. “Napping can be genuinely useful when overnight rest gets interrupted because of factors beyond your control – such as, for a parent of a newborn, or recovering from illness or heavy physical exertion,” says a sleep physiologist. “Yet when you nap since your sleep at night seems unreliable or poor, that’s often a sign your sleep drive is not at the level it needs to be. Under those circumstances, napping can become a contributing factor, rather than the answer. Use napping as a temporary measure to address immediate needs – the focus ought to remain a solid and consistent night’s sleep.”
The Optimal Snooze Time
This implies that daytime sleep ought not to be sufficiently lengthy to interfere with your overnight rest, and best shouldn’t take place in the late afternoon (depending on the time you sleep at night). What duration is wise? Advice differs. Among the most referenced research about napping, experts discovered that space travelers showed a boost of up to 54% in attentiveness and a 34% boost in task performance after a 26-minute nap (technically, this included a six-minute falling asleep phase). “I’d suggest setting a timer for 20-30 minutes – the majority doze off within 10 minutes,” notes a specialist. “You'll find much guidance out there concerning the ideal number of minutes, yet that often cause people to feel more worried than anything – and the least helpful action you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is to stress over it.”
Should you decide to nap for a longer period, steer clear of the 45-60 minute window that promotes sleep inertia, that spaced-out feeling when you wake. “Research would say it's more effective to opt for an extended nap lasting 60-90 minutes compared to a medium-length nap,” notes the expert. “Forty-five minutes is sufficient to plunge you into deep sleep and it is more probable to feel disoriented upon awakening – whereas if you nap for a bit longer to 60 or 90 minutes, you will probably to be on the end a natural sleep cycle and will probably wake up feeling more alert. However, if you’re sleeping for an hour and a half, it can influence your sleep later that night.”
Creating the Perfect Nap Environment
Regarding exact methodologies, recommendations vary. A few professionals propose adopting similar routines one would use to foster restful sleep: a quiet room, a comfortable bed and as much darkness as is feasible. Alternatively, experts propose that you should simply nap on the sofa in the existing light is present – to prevent sleep inertia and to preserve your sleeping quarters as the environment you associate with nighttime rest. “Napping is notoriously difficult to force,” notes a specialist. “Lacking any drowsiness, it becomes harder to get comfortable and basically command yourself to go to sleep. There must be some sleep pressure there to start the process to begin with. For me, it's possible to nap in broad daylight and naturally wake up alarm-free, though, what aids most folks is to look for a moment where they feel naturally slightly tired and just gently ease into sleep.”
It’s worth experimenting, and should your choices are limited – for instance, if you’re trying to grab some shut-eye while traveling or in a work pod – it's acceptable with bringing sleep aids. “In my work with footballers, I suggest that they not rely on sleeping in their bed, as they’re going to have|they will
